Today’s episode is a departure from the standard format of this podcast to revisit a topic we explored back in 2021, which is sexual abuse in capoeira. This remains an ongoing issue, and with this episode, where I am joined by Natasha Távora Baker (Pequena) of the Natasha Explains It All podcast, we hope to get listeners up to speed on what’s been happening since the last episode and what we as a capoeira community can do about it.

Trigger warning: this episode includes discussion of sexual violence and abuse, including of minors.

We reference various resources and campaigns during this episode and they are:

CapoeirAcolher, on Instagram @capoeiracolher: supporting survivors of sexual abuse in capoeira and doing prevention work in Brazil

Please support the GoFundMe campaign to get CapoeirAcolher formally off the ground and registered as a non-profit.

https://gofund.me/62e2b467

Participate in the #RaulPresente (on Instagram @raulpresente) campaign to bring justice to capoeirista Raul, who was abused by his capoeira instructor: Record video of yourself in support of victims of sexual abuse within capoeira and end by saying “Raul presente” (Raul present) to raise awareness and put pressure on the judiciary to move Raul’s case forward

Mestra Colibri of Capoeira Brasil Chicago

School’s website: https://colibricb.com/

School’s code of conduct: https://colibricb.com/code-of-conduct/

Instagram: @chicagocapoeiracenter @katiacolibri

Youtube: @katiacolibri

Participate in Mestra Colibri’s global survey on Identifying Barriers to Women in Capoeira, in English (for the US), in English (for non-US), Portuguese, Spanish, German, and French

Marias Felipas, a collective doing work to promote gender equity in capoeira, on Instagram @mariasfelipas

The Ahimsa Collective, https://www.ahimsacollective.net/, is one organization that can help your group navigate conflict and harm repair

In this episode, I collaborate with Natasha Távora Baker (Pequena) from the podcast Natasha Explains it All to talk about how organized labor actions led to the abolition of slavery in Fortaleza, 5 whole years before the passing of the Golden Law in 1888! We dig into a key figure in this process, Dragão do Mar, and also dig into the history and timeline of the abolition movement in Brazil.

Natasha's Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Qozp50WJWy03nnUQw42O8?si=97e20c0695fe480f

Paranaue is arguably the most popular and well known song in Capoeira, and it's probably the most well known Capoeira song to people outside of the art. It’s the song people sing as a joke when they can tell the people around them don't know the song they’re singing. But what is it that we are actually singing about? If you take a cursory look at the lyrics, it honestly isn’t really clear. The verses are often improvised for situational relevance, and even the “standard” verses seem at best oblique references to something. For those who have asked the question of “what is this even about” in the past, you were probably told that it had to do with a War with Paraguay that Capoeiristas fought in. But what do we really know about this war with Paraguay, why is it so relevant, and why has this song of all others become so well known? Those are the questions that I want to dig into in this episode.

The research for this episode took me far deeper into South American history than I expected, and there were some really surprising turns and revelations along the way, so I hope you enjoy as we take a dive into Paranaue and the War of the Triple Alliance.